Best Cleaner For L-Shaped Pool With Bird Droppings

[skalek]

The plumbing in my pool was just redone and as part of it I had them install a Polaris line in the event I wanted one for the future. I have fairly large l-shaped pool which can be seen in the picture below.

Issues that I have had in the past are the standard dirt/leaves on the floor, but also bird dropping, floating debris, and debris sticking to the walls at the water line.

I am now trying to decide if I would be better off going with a robotic cleaner or a polaris to keep my pool clean and at the same time be able to get the bird droppings and water line debris.

I have been researching and researching this and some people love the ease of use of the polaris while others state that the robots are the best way to go. Even more confusing, even though the Polaris 280 is not the most powerful Polaris, it comes highly recommended over the other ones.

So I am really confused as to what I should do here. My budget is around $1,600 and if I went with the Polaris there would be signficant savings, but my main goal is to do what is best for keeping the pool clean rather than saving the $$$.The ease of use of the polaris is definitely enticing, but I just dont know if it will be adequate for my pool.

With a pool my size and shape, can anyone provide some advice? Do automatic pool cleaners work well in l-shaped pools?

[PoolGuyNJ]

Either way, its easier than manually vacuuming. I personally prefer a pressure side cleaner over a robot. All these are great cleaners: Zodiac/Jandy/Polaris' 280 and 3900, Pentair/Kreepy-Krawley Legend and Platinum models.

Scott

[skalek]

Thanks for replying.

I have not heard great things about the 3900, or 380 for that matter, compared to the 280. Heard that both the 3900 and 380 break down often and that the the zipper for the bag can be a real pain.

Do these more expensive models really clean much better than the 280 to make it worth trying?

[PoolGuyNJ]

In situations where more leaves exist, I think the 3900 handles this better than the 280.

Scott

[skalek]

Thanks Scott. Appreciate the info.

[waterbear]

In situations where more leaves exist, I think the 3900 handles this better than the 280.

Scott

This is true, but as noted there is a difference in reliability and the performance gain is not as much as one would think from what I have seen. The difference between the different units is the number of jets, size of the throat (where the debris goes into the bag), and the size of the bag. More jets move more water and in theory can fill a bigger bag or pick up bigger stuff but if you have a lot of big stuff in your pool get it out with a leaf rake before using any kind of automatic cleaner. Also, the Pentair Legend units have 4 wheels to the Polaris's 3 wheels and this makes them a bit more stable and less prone to tipping, IMHO.

Also, Zodiac has been known for discontinuing units and then parts are no longer available. A prime example is the Mars HP pressure side cleaner (I own one) which they discontinued when they bought Polaris and two years later there were no more tires or other parts available. Sad thing is the Mars was a better cleaner with fewer moving parts and much more dependable than any of the Polaris designs. In case you are interested, I have not replaced mine yet and am manually vacuuming my pool. If I do replace it I will probably go with a Pentair Legend.